IT'S TIME FOR an embarrassing walk down memory lane with yours truly. So a few years and many less gray hairs ago, I was working a conference booth in Orlando. Part of the tedium that is conference life involves moving loads of heavy boxes across endless exhibition halls. Fun, right? So one evening, I'm standing next to a half-already-moved stack of boxes in the middle of the convention center. I bend down to pick up the umpteenth box when it happens. Rippppppppp.

Oh. My. God. My head whips back to check the damage. The piece of fabric that I see dangling in the wind probably would have been serviceable atop the mast of a pirate ship. This is a code red, crotch-to-leg, nearly bare-ass emergency. I find the closest booth backdrop and back up right against the fabric until my coworker comes looking for me. When she sees the damage, she bursts out laughing all the way back to our booth where she almost literally saves my ass with a sweater for me to tie around my waist so I can walk with whatever burnt ends of dignity managed to survive.

So what does that have to do with today's style post? Everything, actually.

WHILE I WAS browsing H&M last week, I came across a new line of denim(ish) pants that they're calling Tech Stretch Slim (Low Waist) pants. That's a mouthful, so I'm just going to call them My New Obsession™. Made from a blend of cotton and elastin, My New Obsession™ pants have all the softness of cotton and all the stretchy goodness of your favorite yoga pants. They fit snug through my legs and thighs, but they don't squeeze me around my size [redacted] waist.

The freedom you have in these sort-of-jeans is unparalleled. Jumping awkwardly while flailing your legs in public spaces, sitting with your legs spread open facing a parking lot, curling into unnaturally tight balls...the options are endless. You can do the splits in these things. I say you can because if I tried I'd end up getting hauled away to a hospital in a stretcher with my legs still spread.

My point is this: H&M's Tech Stretch Slim pants are some of the most comfortable, flexible, and stylish pants I've ever worn. Whether you pair them with jean jackets and button downs or a blazer and graphic tee, you're going to love the way they fit and the way they feel. And every time you bend down to pick up boxes in the middle of a crowded convention hall, you can rest assured that you won't be taking a walk of shame back to your hotel room with a sweater around your waist.

Welcome to North & Kedzie. My name is Brian Gee, and I'm inviting you to join me on my journey towards making style & culture approachable and accessible at home in Chicago and wherever else my travels may take me.